The scene:
- we’re in a transfer window
- Mid-term of a new manager’s first season
- Lying in 5th (very Kloppy/Peppy for a new boy)
- GF column ok. GA column not good
- Transfer budget: outlook bleak
- Recent poll here showed overwhelming support for a CB in Jan
First up, the bleeding obvious. Real Madrid and Juventus are always looking to strengthen/upgrade. All teams, from Barcelona to Bognor are always two players short. We will never be any different.
The CB? If talk of limited budget and only loan deals is to be believed, where’s the benefit of signing some short-term aged colossus? One of the essential ingredients of a good defence is understanding between the back three/four. I reckon we’re better off with what we have until a sensible budget is available. Also, we may get some top level experience for the promising Mavro and therefore have a clearer understanding of CB requirements for the summer after the return of Holding. We may well need a quality CB, but I don’t believe a stop gap loan is going to make any significant difference this season and I ‘d rather we wait.
Oh, and by the way, in that poll, I voted (twice) for an attacking midfielder.
Throughout this first half of the season, we’ve been plagued with the repeating pattern of a game of two halves. As I said earlier, our Goals For column is ok, unlike the Goals Against and the temptation for many is to assume that automatically implies the need to strengthen at the back.
BUT, throw in the fact that our defence has been ravaged by injuries, and I come up with another explanation.
Bloggers have mentioned our rope-a-dope sixty odd minutes of containment before invariably only landing the knock-out blows late in the game. This means the defence are under pressure for too long in every game. To be expected when playing the better sides, but we’re subjecting our defence to this every game, and this may explain the high casualty rate.
This brings me back to the Goals For column, which I described as Ok. Of course you can never score enough, however, we lie joint third in this column, but here’s the problem. We don’t score a higher enough percentage of these in the first forty five against the lower calibre sides. We don’t finish ‘em off before oranges. The problem this side has is not how many we score, but when.
In short, the attacking midfielders are not performing.
Unai is clearly still evaluating his largely inherited squad, and I’d expect a cull before significant quality replacements are brought in to compliment HIS ideas and vision.
I’d be ok with no arrivals this window, unless of course, Stan unearths a stash to……nah.
(Apologies. Chaotic thoughts. Rushed)
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Cheers, Micky.
Love the post and your lateral way of thinking.
Too many goals in the against column = buy some more attacking players. Sounds bizarre but in a few sentences, you have me convinced. 🙂
(I added a photo of Mavro to the post and that made it look as though you were saying, ‘Do Arsenal need a CB? – No, because we have one already’ which obviously isn’t the theme of the post. So I’ve removed it)I
Great post and agree with you on the difficulty and validity of signing a CB on loan this winter. If we did, then we have to go for either:
1. An out of contract player or shortly out of contract player like Pepe was;
2. A very promising young player that we can get on loan with a purchase clause to be triggered in July. Then you go for De Ligt, Gimenez, Skriniar
If we want to address our defensive issues, some players need to be replaed in the line-up asap:
– Mustafi by a top CB
– Xhaka by a top DM/CM
Both players can stay as squad players but they sill hold good value in the transfer market so if we need cash, let us sell them.
Then you also need to take care of the clutter and get rid of:
– Ospina, Chambers, Jenkinson, Kos, El Neny, Asano
– Wellbeck will be let go as well
The big question mark is Ozil and also Miky. Do we keep both or do we sell both or do we keep only one? Attacking stats are with Miky and Miky is Auba’s good friend so…
This whole squad haul will happen this summer. At this stage of the season, let us try to fix one priority area annd for me it is the DM/CM area because I believe that this partnership in front of the defenders is key to our game. There are some players that could be attracted and I think that we need to be smart about it – for example, get Doucoure or Ndidi or Gueye on loan with an automatic purchase clause in July and also loan out El Neny or Willock to the team that will give us the player.
Imagine:
Leno – Mustafi, Sok, Monreal – Bello, Torreira, GUEYE, Kola – Laca, Auba, Iwobi
This gives me more confidence in midfield and I still have plenty of ammunitions on the bench with AMN, Ramsey, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Ozil, Miky;;;
Great work Micky …. I totally agree with your analysis of the CB’s, I think that when Holding and Mavro are back we should move a couple on (if we are going to buy a quality, ready to go CB) Mustafi should go and we’ve already had the best of kozzer.
I also voted for an attacking MF yesterday …. and it looks like UE agrees if his pursuit of Suarez on loan and reluctance to play M O is anything to go by. One thing we do need is pace at the back, so hopefully Mavro will fit the bill, he looked really good when he last played. I also think Zech Medley is a great prospect.
Oh no, we have consensus at the moment.
You summed our season up with these few words “We don’t finish ‘em off before oranges.”.
Thank you for another interesting alternative viewpoint
Brilliant for hi-lighting the Obvious! Any more gems(Crap!)
Ifyou wt to ke a gamble on a versatile player with a great mentality, try Frederic Guilbert from Caen. Can play RB and RCB and the guy is very determined, big mentality and commitment. Having a good season in France at age 24 and could end up being a gem…
Thanks for your contribution, Omar.
The poll we had yesterday suggested that the majority of Arse fans thought we needed a CB as a priority. This post suggests otherwise.
In what way is that deemed ‘Obvious’ ?
Rasp put up a link this morning. Fine article which explains in depth about why we need to loan rather than buy a player
http://youaremyarsenal.com/arsenal-stan-kroenke-analysis-stats/
Great article.
It almost makes me think that much of the game these days is played nowhere near a football pitch, which is really really sad.
Get a defence coach asap .Keowm had wanted to help
but was dismissed out of hand by the fm
If Arsenal don’t wish to buy a cd,they shd go for a dc asap.
Time is of the essence.
What did you think of the post, Malaysian?
Why would Keown be any better than Adams at coaching?
Pay Ozil more and tell him being a “superman” is not good enough, we need more.
Sell the dross now, play the defensive young guns progressively, and the attacking midfielders until the end of the season.
Win the Europa Cup and get into Champions League. Come fourth as well and ” Give him the money” in the Summer.
LBG. Simple.
Friday 25th Jan KO 1955 FA Cup Arse v Manure. Live on BBC.
Who will be Young Gun of the year?
Holding was in pole position but maybe now, we have AMN, Mavro, or Smithe-Rowe or Willock that could try and lure this title…
I suppose Bellerin and Iwobi are no longer in the young guns category
I wonder if we can make a move for Herrera or Wanyama.
Juventus keen on Ramsey as of January and ready to splash out 10 Mln while AFC holds on for 20 Mln. He could go for 12-15 as of Jan and then Suarez would join us on loan now with an obligation to buy him in June…
RC
The only move we want to make for Herrera and Wanyama is in the opposite direction!!
Interesting post-needed for a while and much better than fifa-think video game.
Could see the allure of going with an offensive mid, but that would be more of the same, to a degree. Will that get the Arsenal a Europa trophy or 4th? Me thinks not.
Going to tack on this one, get Cahill or some other super physical cb and tighten up the back-this is for this year, not next. Not trying to tie some older guy up long term, just stop the monster holes we have in the back.
Top 4 will be tight and Europa too- but there is the possibility that the Arsenal could get a toe in the door.
Have stated before, going forward-sell all the deadwood-ALL. (Counting on Holding coming back from acl reconstruction is a serious gamble- even though the collision did not even look that bad, I do not know if he will ever be healthy again, modern medicine is amazing, and even achilles ruptures can be overcome now, so I am a glass half full guy, sometimes.)
Emery should be allowed to try and win with his team not inherited lumber.
How rich is it Merson slagging off AW, as stupid.
Fed up with the Ramsey issue. Hope he goes in this window. No matter his salary, think he might end up on bench, or be Crocker by first Italian tackle.
Crocker, Cracker……..How about crocked!
Mickey, my man, only you can come up with a fascinating, alternative Post like this one, and long may that continue.✌️
In principle I think there is little to commend the signing of an ageing, slow, pension-seeking CB.
Can I also add, in principle, that view also applies to any other similar type player in any given position.
Oldies OUT!!
Not bloggers, of course, otherwise blogdom would be even more bereft of Posts, comments and blog sites. Everyone seems to be gravitating to Twitter.
Oldies IN !!!
for RC78, tomic is the ozil of tennis (and its better than Chas’s smelly/dead fish puke vid:-)
Hate Leeds. But some classy players in that squad, especially central defenders.
Mmmm, interesting.
Tried to link the cb poll to the fact that I think it’s the attacking mid that’s more buggered ie Mesut, Ramsey, Iwobi, Mhki…..well, at least in the first half. Guess there’s alot in the getting the title right 🙄
Must concentrate Didit, you old git
Anyway…match day. Pretty serious these next two aaway at Wham and then home to Chavs. Could end up 3 points ahead of them, or 9 behind. Big two games
Aaaway with you Micky Piece of liquid urine. Two wins.
Hope so, LBG. That would put us worst case level on points with the skinheads 🙂
Morning All,
Post to write. Back soon.
Where’s West Ham Bob when you need him?
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